1. The great scallop (Pecten maximus) is a commercially important bivalve in Europe, particularly in the English Channel, where fisheries are managed at regional and local scales through the regulation of fishing effort. In the long term, knowledge about larval dispersal and gene flow between populations is essential to ensure proper stock management. Yet, previous population genetic studies have reported contradictory results.
2. In this study, scallop samples collected across the main fishing grounds along the French and English coasts of the English Channel (20 samples with temporal replicates for three sites, n = 1059 individuals), and the population genetic structure was analysed using 13 microsatellite loci. Coupling empirical genetic data with demogenetic modelling based on a biophysical model simulating larval exchanges among scallop beds revealed a subtle genetic differentiation between south‐west English populations and the rest of the English Channel, which was consistent with larval dispersal simulations.
3. The present study provides a step forward in the understanding of great scallop population biology in the English Channel, underlining the fact that even in a context of potentially high gene flow and recent divergence times since the end of the last glacial maximum, weak but significant spatial genetic structure can be identified at a regional scale.

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关于英吉利海峡大扇贝种群遗传结构的新见解，结合微卫星数据和后生模拟

1. 大扇贝（Pecten maximus）是欧洲的重要商业双壳类动物，尤其是在英吉利海峡，该地区通过调节捕捞努力在区域和地方范围内管理渔业。从长远来看，有关种群之间的幼虫扩散和基因流的知识对于确保适当的种群管理至关重要。然而，先前的人口遗传研究报告了矛盾的结果。
2. 在这项研究中，从沿英吉利海峡的法国和英国海岸主要渔场采集的扇贝样品（20个样品，三个地点的时间重复样本，n = 1059个人），并使用13个微卫星基因座分析了种群遗传结构。将经验遗传数据与基于模拟扇贝床之间幼虫交换的生物物理模型的后生模型相结合，揭示了西南英格兰种群与英吉利海峡其他地区之间的细微遗传差异，这与幼虫扩散模拟一致。
3. 本研究为理解英吉利海峡的扇贝种群生物学提供了一个前进的方向，强调了一个事实，即即使在自上次冰川最大期结束以来潜在的高基因流和最近的发散时间的背景下，也存在弱而重要的空间遗传结构可以在区域范围内确定。